A Carmel College student has set her sights on entering the civil service in her hometown of Darlington.
Josie Kwok turned down an offer to study Law at Durham University in favour of staying close to home and accepting a four-year apprenticeship with Darlington Economic Campus.
She achieved straight As in Al-level Maths, Chemistry, and Biology, and will start at the town’s National Government hub later this year as an Applied Social Research Apprentice with the Department for Business and Trade.
Josie said: “I think all the work experience I’m going to get will be great, and I’m really excited.
“The Carmel Careers team arranged visits and open days to Darlington Economic Campus, so I got to see what they do, and it just seems really interesting. It will be nice to have a real hands-on working experience – plus it will be good to be earning from the start!”
Josie joined Carmel College – which is part of the Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust – in the middle of lockdown, but now hopes to complete her apprenticeship and rise up the ranks of the civil service.
She isn’t ruling out an eventual move to Whitehall, but is glad to have the opportunity to stay close to home.
“I think we’re really lucky to have the Economic Campus in Darlington,” she said.
“So much of the civil service happens in London, but the Darlington campus is expanding and bringing in more local employees, so that’s really great.
“I think it would be nice to keep climbing the ranks in the civil service, but it seems really versatile, so I want to keep my future options open.”
Josie credits her mum for helping her find the apprenticeship, the Carmel Careers team for introducing her to the campus, and her time in the school’s Debate and Public Speaking Club for preparing her for her future role. “It all opened my eyes to what’s out there, and hopefully everything I learned will tie into what I do in the future.”